Searching To Find You
by EO-Hiphuggers
Summary: When Catherine discovers she's late to pick Linzi up from school after working for hours on a new case, a series of events unfolds causing the Las Vegas Crime Lab to travel to Miami & New York in order to save Catherine & her Daughter. Set during S1/ S2.
1. Chapter 1

**An EO-Hiphuggers Story…**

**Searching to find you- Catherine, Linzi and Grissom**

***Set during Season 1/ Season 2***

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters apart from Marissa, Lara, Jodie, Bree-Anna and Max; all other characters belong to CSI:LV and Jerry B.**_

Chapter 1

"Linzi! We gotta get going if you want me to bring you to school." Catherine said checking her watch.

"Coming Mom!" Linzi shouted down the stairs from her bedroom as she closed the last Velcro strap on her trainer. She grabbed her tiny bag of her dressing table chair and put it on her back. She ran out of the room and down the stairs to her mom who had just finished putting Linzi's lunch in her lunchbox.

Catherine grabbed her own thermos of coffee, and grabbed her handbag and keys from the table. She checked that she had her gun and badge, and she headed toward the front door with Linzi right behind her. She made sure the door was locked as Linzi headed to the car.

Catherine helped Linzi into the back seat and made sure she had her seatbelt on. She closed the door and went around to the drivers side. She got in and put her bag and Linzi's lunchbox on the passenger seat. She put the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse. As she backed out of the driveway, she smiled at Linzi who smiled back.

"Mommy," Linzi said, "I love you."

Catherine's smile grew as she replied, "Well Sweetie, I love you lots too."

Catherine's smiled stayed as she drove Linzi the whole way to school. She was the luckiest mom in the whole world to have a daughter like Linzi.

About 10 minutes later, she pulled up outside Linzi's school. She had got caught in traffic, and was now running a little late. She helped Linzi out of the car, and handed her the little lunchbox. She kissed her forehead.

"Mommy will pick you up later okay?"

Linzi nodded, "Bye Mommy, I love you."

"Bye Sweetie, love you too." Catherine replied as she got back into the car. She watched as Linzi ran to the door of the building, were she met her friends, and they went inside. Catherine sped off toward the lab, knowing that Grissom might be mad because she was late…AGAIN!

She found a parking space and quickly grabbed her things as she rushed into the building. She signed in and met Grissom coming down the hall as she was going into the locker room to put her handbag and keys away.

"Catherine," Grissom started, but Catherine cut him off.

"Gil, I'm sorry. I had to drop Linzi off at school, but I got stuck in traffic and then I tried to get here as soon as I could, but it won't happen again." she said flustered and all in one breath.

Grissom looked at her strangely and said, "Okay, but that's not why I wanted to talk to you; here's your case. 33 year old female Vic at Caesar's, fell from 10th storey window, no suspects and also the Vic has no name."

"Perfect." Catherine sighed and took the slip from Grissom. She got her kit from the bottom of the locker and when she turned around, Gil was gone and Nick was standing in his place.

"Gris assigned me to work this case with you." Nick said with his famous smile. Catherine smiled back and nodded as they both walked out to the crime lab parking garage. Nick got into the drivers seat of a Tahoe and Catherine got into the passenger seat.

When they arrived at the scene, there was squad cars everywhere and also large crowds being held back by that famous yellow crime scene tape. They both got out of the Tahoe and ducked under the crime scene tape and walked over to where the body lay face down. They sat their kits down and began to look at the body. The Coroner, David, was watching the body and he knew not to touch anything until the CSI's did their thing.

"Find any ID yet?" Catherine asked as she took some photographs and carefully searched the body.

"No, but an Officer said that someone inside ID'd her as Jodie Gribbs." David replied expressionless; no crime scene seemed to shock him anymore.

Suddenly Brass appeared along-side them.

"I got some more info on the victim, Jodie Gribbs," he said in his raspy voice as he checked his notes, "She was single and from Miami, and she was here on one of her friend's hen-party weekends."

"They know what happened?" Nick chimed in.

"Well according to the hen, a… Marissa Lopez, they were all enjoying some Champagne in the main room and our Vic here, just gets up and walks into the bedroom and doesn't come back." Brass replied; the expression on his face didn't take a genius to work out that he wasn't buying the story.

"Apart from Marissa and our Vic, Jodie, who else was in the main room?" Catherine inquired.

"3 other girls; Lara Lopez- Marissa's sister, Bree-Anna Scott and April Evans. There was also a male stripper,…Max Huberman. No ones seen him since they found the body. His car is gone from the parking lot and we have a BOLO out on him now."

The CSI's took a few more photographs and collected a few bits of evidence from the room where the victim fell from. They were heading back to the Tahoe when Nick's cell rang.

"Stokes…Really?…Okay, that's great…yep, on our way back now…Okay, Thank You."

Catherine looked at him. "Grissom?"

"Yea," Nick said with a smile, "They got the Stripper, but he's not talking."

Catherine chuckled, "Typical, however, they always talk in the end."

Catherine and Nick got into the Tahoe as the Coroner van left the scene. They headed back to the lab to process any evidence they had collected.

Back at the lab, Nick questioned the stripper, but had to let him go because they didn't have enough to hold him. Catherine was making her way to the Coroner's office while Nick was doing the interview and now Nick was headed to see what Greg Sanders had got from their evidence.

"David, got anything from the body?" Catherine asked as she came through the door to the autopsy room and over to David, who was beside the body taking notes.

"Yeah, COD was a result of the fall, but I did find a large amount of alcohol in her system."

"Not surprising," Catherine rolled her eyes, "She was on a hen-party weekend."

"Yes, but I also found some GHB in her system, and those are not a good combo together, and I doubt very much that her friends slipped her the drug, because GHB isn't usually a women's choice."

"Okay, so are you suggesting that maybe the stripper slipped it to her?"

"My guess would be yes, but that is kind of risky for him as all eyes would have been on him all night, so when would he have had the time to slip her the drug?"

"Well," Catherine sighed, "Usually it is slipped into someone's drink, so my guess would be that she ingested it through the large amount of alcohol she drank."

David nodded. "Anything else?" Catherine crossed her arms. David checked his notes.

"Vic had some close and very friendly activity a very short time before her death."

"Trauma?" Catherine piped up as her eyes grew wider.

"No trauma; everything points to consensual. I also found some glass in the back of her arms, more than like from the window she fell through, but I sent it to the lab for comparison just to be sure."

"Okay, thanks David."

Catherine headed back up to the lab, and headed for a computer. She typed the name, 'Max Huberman' into the computer and searched for anything hinky on him. Catherine stared at the computer as it slowly searched through the databases.

Sometime later, Catherine noticed the time. _'Shit!' _she thought, _'Linzi.' _

She left a note for Nick, who was meant to meet her in the computer lab, as she got up and headed out to go and collect Linzi from school and drop her off at the sitters.

Catherine pulled up around the corner from Linzi's school as there was no free spaces in front of the school. She headed toward the building and decided to cut through an alley rather than go the whole way around the block. She was half way through the alley, when everything went from blurry to black.

**A/N: Okay, so I know people have asked me if I'm going to continue with my other stories, and I promise I am; I'm going on holiday in a week, but when I'm there, I'll be able to get some more idea's and some inspiration- I've been told poolside writing can be very inspiring! LOL Plus, I'll have 9 hours on a plane to do a lot of writing too, so, I shall hopefully had many updates.**

**This story came to me, as I was having a sort of mini CSI fest (you know, as you do LOL) and I was watching S1 and S2 on DVD, and I was inspired to do a story for the original CSI, as I haven't written on before on FF for it- I have a GSR story on the CSI:LV message board, that I'll try and find (only if I can) and hopefully post it up here, cause it's complete, but only if I can find it LOL. Thanks for reading, and remember, click that R&R button that's calling out to you; I want to know your thoughts and opinions; R&R's get you more chapters a lot quicker, as I have up to part of chapter 3 written on this story so far.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is the next chapter which is LONG overdue! LOL :D Enjoy! :D **

**Chapter 2**

Gil Grissom sat at his desk, fascinated by one of his bug collections, when his desk phone rang.

"Grissom…Okay Melanie, put him through…"

"Gil?"

"Yes Eddie, how can I help you?"

"Is Cath still at work?"

"She went out to pick up Linzi from school and drop her at the babysitters, why?"

"Well," Eddie swallowed hard. "Catherine was mean to drop her off at our Babysitter, Chloe's house at 3pm and then I pick her up after work at 5pm and then I look after her until Catherine gets of shift but when I went to Chloe's to pick up Linzi, Chloe told me she hadn't shown up today."

Gill was slightly concerned because as he had been fascinated with his bugs, he hadn't noticed 2 hours go by. "Okay Eddie, let me make some inquires and I'll get back to you soon okay?"

"Okay, thank you, but Gill; you don't think anything has happened do you?"

"Well Eddie, that's what I'm going to try and find out." Gill replied as he hung up the phone. He left his office and headed to find Nick.

He caught up with him a short time later in the computer lab.

"Nick," Grissom said walking through the door, "Catherine back yet?"

"No man, she went out to pick up Linzi, maybe she is stuck in traffic?"

"I don't think so," Gill said as he dialed Catherine's cell phone. No Answer. He looked at Nick again. "She never showed up at the Babysitters."

"Did you ring the school?" Nick said as he stood up, looking quite worried.

"I don't have the number."

Nick thought for a second and gasped as he rushed out of the computer lab with Gill close behind him. Nick ran to the locker room and yanked open Catherine's locker. He scanned his eyes down the inside of her locker door until he found what he was looking for. He read the number out to Grissom who punched it into his cell phone.

"Hello, Orchid Elementary School, how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Gill Grissom, from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I was wondering if I could speak to Linzi Willows teacher please."

"Of course, one minute please…Hello, I'm Linzi Willows teacher, Miss Bailey; I understand you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, Did Catherine Willows pick up Linzi from school today?"

"No, Eddie's brother Jonathan did."

"Oh, that's okay, thank you very much for your help."

Gill hung up the phone and turned to Nick. "Get everyone in my office immediately please."

Nick nodded and left to round up the rest of the team and Brass. Grissom called Eddie and told him to get down to the precinct.

15 minutes later, everyone was huddled into Grissom's office, waiting for Gill to tell them what was going on.

"We have a situation," Gill began.

"Catherine went out earlier to pick up Linzi from school; however she never made it to the babysitters. When I rang the school to find out if she picked Linzi up, they told me that Eddie's brother picked Linzi up, however I happen to know that Eddie is an only child which leads me to believe that something bad has happened to both Catherine and Linzi."

Everyone in the office looked extremely worried, especially since Catherine was one of their own.

"So, what's the plan?" Sara asked bleakly.

"Well, Warrick, I want you to track down Catherine's car. Sara, go and trace Catherine's cell phone and see if you can get a location on her. Nick, head over to the school and check out their security camera's and see if you can find out who this guy pretending to be Eddie's brother is."

The Guys nodded and set to work. "Brass, take Eddie and get a statement from him and maybe pay Catherine's house a visit."

Grissom left his office, and bumped into Warrick in the hallway.

"Gris, I got a location on Cath's car."

"Okay, I'm coming with you."

They pulled up across the street from where Catherine's car was parked. Grissom started to look around the car, while Warrick stood lost in thought. Grissom noticed Warrick's face.

"Warrick? What are you thinking?"

"Well, Linzi finishes school at 2:30pm and Cath signed out of the Lab at 3:05pm. That leads me to believe that she was running late to pick up Linzi. We're right around the corner from Linzi's school, and if you were already late for picking up your kid, you wouldn't walk the whole way around the block…"

Grissom finished his sentence. "…you'd find the nearest shortcut."

Warrick and Grissom began to walk across the street to the alley. They carefully searched the alleyway.

"Gris, I got something." Warrick said as he held up Catherine's jacket. Grissom had also found something as he held up a white cloth with, to Grissom, what smelled like chloroform. Warrick searched Cath's jacket and found her keys, Cell phone, badge and near the cloth, Grissom recovered Catherine's gun. He looked grimly at Warrick, who replied, "Gris, what the hell has happened to her?"

"I don't know Warrick, but I know it's not good."

Catherine slowly opened her eyes and everything was dark and blurry. She tried to adjust her eyes, and then she saw something in front of her. _'Linzi!'_ she thought, _'oh my God.'_ She tried to move over to her daughter, but her hands and feet were bound tightly with cable ties. She didn't know where she was, but she knew she was moving. Linzi's eyes were still shut, and Catherine tried to whisper her name, but her mouth was also duck taped.

The driver of the van smirked, _'Don't worry Willows; your friends aren't going to find you anytime soon.'_ He thought as he passed a sign saying 'Welcome to Phoenix, Arizona."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, so here is the next chapter :D Enjoy :D**

**Chapter 3**

Grissom and Warrick headed toward the school to see what Nick had got. He'd spoken to the principal, who had gladly obliged and let them check the security footage. Nick had been going through it for just over 3 hours now, and had nothing.

Luckily the Principal was also the art teacher, and Sara had come to the school to help out with the investigation. The principal had got a good look at the guy and was with the Police Sketch Artist.

20 minutes later, Sara ran to find Grissom, who was still with Nick and Warrick looking at the footage in the school's security suite.

"Guys, I got a sketch from the principal, this is our guy." Sara held up the sketch.

"Damn it!" Nick yelled, "We had him and we let him go!"

"Who is he?" Sara asked softly.

Nick sighed, "His name is Max Huberman; He was the stripper in our Casino Vic case at Caesars. What the hell does he want with Catherine though?"

Just then, Nick's cell phone rang.

"Stokes…What? Okay, thank you very much."

"Sara, you and Catherine investigated a robbery 75 miles from here a few months ago right and it tied to the Casino heist?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well the guy that has Catherine is ex-state trooper William Spencer, who escaped from Prison last week, they've been looking for him ever since. He's changed his identity and his appearance and now he has Cath!"

"What?" Sara replied in total shock, "That can't be him!"

Nick sighed, "Spencer's prints in our database confirm he is Huberman."

Catherine kept her eyes fixed on Linzi, so that incase she woke up, she would know that her mom was there with her. Catherine was scared because she had no idea where they where or why they had been taken but she knew for Linzi's sake, she had to be brave. She felt where ever she was beginning to slow down, and then she heard voices.

"Welcome to Fort Worth, Texas."

_'Oh God! We've already crossed 3 state lines.'_ Catherine thought, _'Where are we being taken too?'_

They drove for another while which felt like forever, before the van came to a sudden dead stop. Catherine was very worried now as Linzi had bolted awake and was staring at her with tears in her eyes. She was absolutely terrified. Catherine could feel her own tears starting to form as she knew how Linzi felt, but she fought them in order to remain calm for her daughter's sake. She heard footsteps outside and they grew closer and closer as the bolt on the back of the van was undone. A large flash of light blinded Catherine, as she blinked rapidly trying to adjust her eyes to the light.

She felt the van spring under some weight as she felt her hands being unbound from behind her back and the cable ties being cut from around her ankles. A voice she recognized told her not to move. She did as she was told, but felt helpless as she heard Linzi's cries as she was treated the same. Catherine was instructed to Lift Linzi and get out of the van. Catherine picked her daughter up in her arms and held her tightly. She felt Linzi's tears on her shoulder, as she kissed her daughter's head and whispered in her ear, "Sssh, baby, it's going to be okay, Mommy's here."

Catherine climbed out of the van and was grabbed by her arm and taken into an old, rundown building. As soon as she got out of the van, she looked around trying to find anything that would help her to figure out exactly where she was. It was no use. She was surrounded by trees and forests. They were in the middle of nowhere and so very far away from the bright lights of Vegas.

Inside the rundown building, Catherine could hear the sound of leaky pipes, and everything else was silent except for their footsteps. It was very dark, so she couldn't tell who it was that had kidnapped her and her daughter. At the end of what Catherine discovered was a long dark corridor, they were pushed into a small room with no windows and a mattress on the floor. The door was quickly locked behind them and they were left alone. It was cold, damp, and they were so far away from home, that Catherine doubted for a second that they would never be found, but she remembered her colleagues, and how when one of their own was in trouble, they would not give up until they were all reunited again. This was the only hope she was going to cling to in order to try and survive and walk away from this horrible ordeal.

She pushed the mattress with her foot toward the wall and sat down on it and leaned against the wall. She had Linzi on her knee and continued to hold her close in order to keep her warm.

Back in Vegas, Grissom and the team had been working flat out in order to try and establish what exactly had happened to Catherine and Linzi. They had discovered that a van had been stolen, and the victim had confirmed that it was Spencer who had stolen the van. A BOLO had been put out on the van, but no responses had been received yet.

The front desk phone rang as Grissom was about to head out to try and find something else to help them in the investigation, when the receptionist Melanie called him over. She handed him the phone. "Grissom, Fort Worth PD had some info on the stolen van."

Grissom's eyes widened as he answered the call.

"Gill Grissom, Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"Hello Mr. Grissom, I'm Captain Eva Oaks, with the Fort Worth PD. I hear you have a BOLO out on a stolen van out of Vegas?"

"Yes, I do, and I believe you have some information on my stolen van."

"Yes, the van entered Fort Worth about an hour ago; I remember as I spoke to the driver and I've made some inquires, and I believe it is still here."

"I'm going to fax you through a photo and I would like to know if this is the driver you spoke too."

Grissom faxed the photograph through to the Fort Worth PD. A few minutes later, Captain Oaks replied, "Yes Mr. Grissom, this is the driver I spoke to."

"Captain Oaks, this man has kidnapped one of my CSI's and her daughter, and I would like to request that your PD doesn't make a move until I get there. I'm going to have a chopper fly me in. This man is very smart; he is an ex-state trooper, who has escaped from a prison here in Vegas, and he is very dangerous, but I can't risk losing track of him again, as he may hurt my CSI."

"I completely understand Mr. Grissom, I will ask around and see if any of my Detectives know the whereabouts of the van, but we will lay low until you get here."

Will that, Grissom hung up and hurried to the layout room where the team was working hard on the case. They all looked up as they saw Grissom running down the hallway.

"Gris, what's going on?" Nick asked anxiously.

"Fort Worth PD down in Texas has just informed me that the stolen van arrived there about an hour ago, and Spencer was driving the van. Captain Oaks from the PD informed me that it still is in the area, so I'm having a chopper send me and Nick there to work with the PD to try and find out where Catherine and Linzi are. Sara you are in charge until I get back."

The team nodded, and Grissom and Nick set off to the Chopper. They were slightly excited as they were one step closer to finding Catherine and Linzi and bringing them home safely, but then again, they knew that something could still go horribly wrong.

Catherine rocked Linzi on her knee and tried to get her to go to sleep. She was silently praying that any minute now Grissom would walk into the room and take them to safety. She was staring around the dark room when she noticed a glow stick faintly lit in the corner. She looked closer and noticed a scrap of paper and a pen. She carefully laid Linzi on the Mattress and got up to lift the scrap of paper and the pen. She began to write on the paper and then slipped the scrap in her pocket. She put the pen back on the ground where she found it and snuggled back into Linzi. She tried to think of positive things and that was when she must have drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

_Hey guys! I know that this chapter and update on this story is LONG overdue, but I happened to re-read what I've already written, and decided to continue while I have some free time. I hope you enjoy this chapter and remember, please R&R!_

**Catherine's P.O.V**

_Linzi is still asleep beside me; surprising to be honest, considering this is a strange place as she's never been away from Vegas before. I hope the guys find us soon, because I hate that she has to go through this too- she's a wee angel, nobody could have a grudge against her. The scariest thing is that I can't show my true feelings; I have to be brave for her sake. Truth is; I'm terrified. I can't even do anything; I don't have my gun, badge; I'm completely helpless. The only thing I can do is try and comfort my daughter until we hopefully get out of this mess._

**Grissom's P.O.V**

_I can't believe I let this happen on my watch. If I hadn't have been so fascinated by my bug collection, I may have noticed sooner that she had been gone a long time. I pray that we'll find her and Linzi alive or else I'll never forgive myself. We've just landed at Fort Worth PD. There are cops everywhere; I hope they're all helping to find them. I recognize the badge on the woman walking toward me- Captain Eva Oaks. She greets me by shaking my hand, and telling me that we have full usage of all Fort Worth PD's resources. She guides me and Nick into the precinct to see what all they've got so far. I can only pray that their investigation combined with ours is enough to find them._

**Nick's P.O.V**

_Walking through this Precinct is a dead ringer for home. I can tell that Grissom is blaming himself for this even though it's not his fault. I put my hand on his shoulder and he turns to look at me. I give him a comforting smile, as he forcefully gives me one back. We have just entered the layout room, where notes and reports are scattered over the work surface. Eva has started talking to Grissom; telling him everything they know so far, and Grissom explains what we know to as to fill in the blanks. I'm very fond of Cath; she has always been a great friend to me; I hate the thought of her in trouble; especially her and her daughter Linzi. Little Linzi calls me Uncle Nicky; I love that little girl- she has a heart of gold, and why anyone would want to take her, I'll never know._

Grissom, Nick and Captain Oaks's team got together, and began to head to the area where the van had been last scene. They knew that they could be one step closer to finding her.

Catherine had curled up beside Linzi on the mattress. She felt somewhat hopeful. She knew Grissom would never give up on her and Linzi. Then again, she felt terrified, not because she had being kidnapped, but because Linzi had been. She was startled from her thoughts as footsteps got louder and louder. She held Linzi close, as the door swung open, and the figure that brought them here entered the room. He walked toward them, and ripped the blanket of Linzi who just happened to wake up. She screamed as Catherine held her close. She stroked her hair, and whispered that everything would be okay.

The guy told Catherine to pick up Linzi. When she did, he grabbed Catherine's arm and dragged her out of the room. As he was dragging them outside to the van again, Catherine carefully dropped the piece of paper that had been in her pocket, where he wouldn't see it but where it could be seen. The back of the van was opened, and the floor lifted up. Catherine and Linzi were tied up and put into the floor of the van. When the floor was closed on top of them, they were left in darkness. Catherine managed to grab Linzi's hand and whisper to her that everything was going to be okay.

Grissom and Nick pulled up at the end of a dirt road in the forest. They got out and entered the old building in front of them followed by patrol. As Grissom went inside the building, Nick stayed outside, as something on the ground caught his eye. He piece up the white scrap, and noticed the message on it. He ran inside the building where he found Grissom at the end of the hall in a dark room lit faintly by a glow stick. "Mattress is still warm. They were here not long ago." Grissom said without looking up. "I think Catherine might have left this," Nick replied handing Grissom the scrap, "I also found this spray can outside." The scrap showed a picture of a crocodile wearing shades and a picture of a badge below it. Grissom's eyes widened as he looked at Nick. "I know where he's taking her."

**A/N: Sorry it's short, but the next chapters are going to be good! HAHA :D Please R&R! **


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